Dreams
by TheEternalCalm
Summary: Many people don't fully understand the flow of time, it's a mystery that will forever elude the minds of those who walk the plane's of existence. Regardless of the fact the seeds of one boy's future, are shown in the past, but is it really his past? weak - Strong Naruto Story being revived. There will crossovers from other universes, no characters just ideas.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The young boy could never seem to understand why he was so hated...his earliest memories were all of pain. He never knew who his parents were, he was an orphan after all, and all the caretakers at the orphanage would treat him properly. It was a rare occurrence that he would be given the opportunity to bathe, his food was always spoiled, and no one would stop the constant physical assaults from the other orphans. Sometimes the young blonde would actually thought the caretakers were encouraging such actions, but he was too young to understand.

As his life progressed, his torment only escalated further. At the young age of five, Uzumaki Naruto, was forcibly removed from the orphanage of Konohagakure. Tossed into the streets to fend for himself. At first the young boy child considered it to be a blessing, he was finally away from all of the other orphans that would constantly attack him. Sometimes even leaving him bloody. He thought that being a young boy on the streets that someone would have to help him, no one could be cruel enough to walk past a young child who was smaller than your average child of his age. Not to mention his clothes were practically rages at this point. His white shirt with a small orange Uzushiokagure symbol on the front, was torn in many places, his black shorts were no better, and the boy had no foot wear.

Much to young boy's dismay, his beatings would only continue to get worse. Rather than other children, who were only slightly older than him, beating him. He was beaten by full grown men, most of which reeked of sake. Just like the one attacking the child now.

An alleyway in Konohagakure

The young boy grunted and cried in pain as he thrown into a brick wall and hit the grown head first with a thud. *Sniffle* "Why...why are you hurting me?" The boy managed to say in between his sobs of pain. His head was now bleeding profusely, and his back was practically one big bruise from the force he hit the wall. "Quiet *hic* demon. I will finally *hic* rid this village of its bane." The middle aged man exclaimed in a drunken rage as he pulled a small knife from his sleeve. The boy attempted to stand to try and run away, but he was unable to balance himself due to the injuries he just sustained, he fell right face first in front of the man next to a wall and passed out from pain. "Die DEMON!" He screamed as he lunged the blade down into the boys back, which was met with a loud splash as a red liquid splashed onto the man's face and into the walls. The man smiled and stumbled from the alley way where he threw the boy and began to walk up the street.

The young boy's blood was spreading over the alleyway as it leaked from his body, his blood was already on the walls and his life was quickly fading. The noise the drunken man had made while attempting to murder the young child, had finally caused a commotion as a light turned on from a window above his body. Shortly after that a window could be heard opening, followed by a deafening scream of horror from a young girl. "Father, Father! WAKE UP!" The girl screamed as she shook to wake her father who was stirring from hearing his daughter scream. "What is it Ayame?!" Teuchi asked his daughter as he stood up, there was a sense of urgency in his voice hearing the terror of his daughter's screaming. "A boy was stabbed in the alleyway behind our home! I think he's dying! Daddy we have to help him!" The young Ayame said in between the sobs of each of her sentences. Teuchi wasted no time in sprinting down to the alley behind his home with Ayame slowly coming down the stairs. As he reached the scene where the young Naruto lay, his eyes could not hide the shock. As a civilian he has never truly experienced any horror such as this, and to see it happen to a boy so young...it disgusted him. He quickly removed the knife from Naruto's back and quickly took his top off and tightly wrapped it around the boy. All while Ayame was slowly creeping up on her father, "is...is he gonna be okay daddy?" She asked with tears still in her eyes. "We have to get this boy to the hospital Ayame, I can't help him, I'm not a doctor!" Teuchi said as he picked the boy up and sprinted off towards the hospital with Ayame following behind her father as quick as her shorter legs would let her.

The hospital several moments later

The blue doors of the Konoha Hospital burst open with a topless Teuchi running through them with his daughter a few steps behind. Naruto's condition had worsened , his face was now covered in blood from where his head was bleeding, from the front his blonde hair almost unrecognizable from the blood stains. the white top Teuchi was wearing before he wrapped the boy up, might as well have been fully red at this point, Naruto was bleeding out.

"Doctors, you have to help this boy!" Tuechi exclaimed as he three steps into the building. There were no other patients to be seen, and once the nurses saw a now red top wrapped around a young boy, they were quick to bring a gurney over and ordered the boy be set down. "What happened here?!" The nurses yelled with shock in their voice. They had a hard time believing someone could do something like this to such a young boy. "My daughter and I found him like this!" Teuchi exclaimed as Ayame nodded with tears in her eyes "Please help him, he's only a small boy...".

The nurses quickly brought the gurney into some kind of emergency treatment room and quickly began to remove the tops from Naruto, no one was able to recognize the boy from all the blood that had stained his body. A man in a white gown came in to the room and immediately took control of the situation. "What's our patients status?"

Hokage's Office

"Is this true?" The third Hokage said with his eyes wide option in shock.

"Hai Hokage-sama." A young ANBU operative with the mask of a dog stated. "I failed to see the attack itself, but when I heard the screams and moved into investigate. The man and his daughter were already brining the boy to the hospital."

The Third Hokage spat with disgust. "Curse these pathetic villagers, I can't believe they would go this far. Why was the boy not at the orphanage?!" Hiruzen slammed his desk in rage. "A boy that age should not be on his own in the streets in that time of night!"

The ANBU operative stood in front of the raging Hokage silently, waiting for an order.

"Kakasi."

"Hai Hokage-sama."

"I want a full investigation launched, I don't care how many operatives you use. I want an answer to my questions on my desk as soon as possible!" The Hokage exclaimed while tapping his desk with his finger for each of the last four words of his order.

"Understood Hokage-Sama. I will get to the bottom of this myself." Kakashi said as he Shunshined out of the office.

The Hokage sighed and put his head in his hands and almost began to cry. "Minato, if only you could see how they treat your legacy..."


	2. Chapter 1 (The hospital)

Chapter One:

Naruto's hospital room, two days later

Hiruzen was sitting next to the young boy while chewing on the end of his pipe. He didn't want to deal with the headache of the paperwork if he were to light the pipe, so he stuck to chewing on its end. Kakashi and another ANBU were hiding in the room with him, standard procedure for the Hokage to be guarded, in case the worst happened. It had been two days since the incident of that alleyway. The man that had attacked Naruto had been found and sent to Interrogation, it took all the composure Hiruzen had managed to muster to not have the man executed on the spot for attacking the young boy as viciously as he had. However he knew he had no right to order such a thing. Naruto was a civilian, and as such was under the ruling of the civilian council. He could however see to it the man was thrown into integration, which he could only hope would break the man responsible. Ibiki was known for mental attacks, however the Third Hokage had made sure to authorize the use of 'any means necessary' to get the man to talk. Those words always used to make some of the people in interrogation smile, which always sent chills down the spine of the old man.

"Ho-Hokage-sama?" A young girls voice came from the door as it slowly opened. The two ANBU operative who were hidden on the wall and ceiling of the room turned their heads to the door. As well as Hiruzen slowly turned his head to reveal a short girl with dark brown hair and innocent large black eyes. "Ah you must be the girl who found Naruto-kun here, your name was Ayame correct?" Hiruzen calmly spoke, trying not to intimidate the young girl."H-hai." Was all the young girl could muster in response. "Please come sit Ayame-chan, I'm here to visit Naruto-kun just as much as you are I'm sure." His eyes followed the girl as she took a seat next to Hiruzen. "I'd like to formally thank you for finding Naruto-kun." Was all that Hiruzen could say before Teuchi came through the door looking for his daughter. His expression widened upon seeing his daughter seated next to the Hokage. "My apologies Hokage-sama, we can always come back later." Teuchi tried to say with a slight stutter, he was not used to standing in front of people such as the Hokage. "Hmm. No that's quite alright, are you this young girls' father?" Hiruzen asked calmly, trying to reassure the man that he was not interrupting or intruding. "Hai Hokage-Sama, this is my daughter Ayame, and my name is Teuchi. We were the ones who found and brought the boy here." Hiruzen was already aware of such things, but nodded gratefully. "I was just thanking Ayame-chan here for finding Naruto-kun. I truly am grateful to you both for saving his life.." The Hokage said before he was interrupted by "hhnhhhhhhh" All parties involved in the room turned their heads to Naruto as he began to slowly open his eyes, the next few seconds seemed like hours to the Hokage as he sat there with his eyes wide opened. He could not believe the boy was already waking up from such an injury. _The Kyubii might have something to do with this, maybe its chakra that was present in the boy's system was healing him. Perhaps a blessing can come from the curse._ Hiruzen thought to himself.

Once Naruto's eyes were fully opened, the young boy began to look around the room, he was confused. He couldn't quite pinpoint where he was, he had been in a room like this before, but never one this big. Naruto had been in a room slightly like this when he was in the orphanage, when men would tie the bandages around his wounds so tightly that it would hurt just as much as the beatings did. He didn't know why he had three guests either. "Ho-Hokage-sama?" Naruto finally said weakly. After not eating for a couple days before being admitted, and not eating while admitted, he definitely could feel weak. "Naruto-kun..." Hiruzen said quietly first, no one else seemed to want to speak after that, waiting for the Hokage to finish his statement. "How are you feeling?" Hiruzen asked slowly while placing his hand on Naruto's to try and comfort him. "I feel weak...I haven't eaten in almost a week...Can-can I maybe have some food? I can't pay now but..." Naruto said. Hiruzen was quickly stunned by what he heard. How was it possible for this boy to not have eaten in almost a week? Why is he worried about paying us to eat? Just what has been happening to this boy, why wasn't he at the orphanage? All these questions popped into Hiruzen's mind, but he knew better then to overwhelm the boy. Teuchi was quick to speak. "Well of course you can have some food! Don't you even think about payment either. I'll quickly run back to my home and Ill cook you some of the best ramen you've ever eaten!" "Thank you Teuchi, if you'd like to go now and make Naruto-kun some ramen, I will gladly stay here with Ayame-chan and Naruto-kun. I know how...distasteful...the food in the hospital can be." Hiruzen quietly stated while raising his hand, signaling an ANBU operative to come out of hiding, surprising the three people in the room who were not shinobi. "Hokage-sama?" The ANBU said quietly. "Please escort Teuchi back to residence, afterwards please find Yamanaka Inoichi and tell him I request his assistance here. Afterwards please help Teuchi bring back three bowls of ramen for Naruto-kun here." The ANBU quietly nodded signaling he understood his orders and followed Teuchi from the room.

There was a momentary awkward silence in the hospital room shortly after that. Naruto was confused, he had never been treated which kindness in his life, he was honestly shocked. All he has ever know was pain and beatings from the people... Ayame was the one to break the silence "Are you sure you're okay? You scared me when I found you." There were tears in her eyes, she couldn't believe that boy could be attacked in such a way, she honestly thought the boy was going to die. Naruto wasn't quite sure what to do, but when he slowly placed his hand on the girls hand that was on his hospital bed, she seemed to look up and calm down slightly. _The boy is already beginning to take after his father, he always seemed to find a way to keep people calm._ "I'm okay, I think. Thank you for finding me... I don't know if I would be alive if it wasn't for you." Naruto said, his strength was slowly returning and he was sitting up now. Ayame looked at the now sitting up boy and slightly blushed, now that he wasn't covered in blood, she noticed how cute the boy was. His deep blue eyes seemed to comfort her and stop her from shedding any more tears, and his sun-kissed hair was so beautiful to her, now that it wasn't covered in blood.

Hiruzen too this opportunity to segue into the conversation, he had questions that needed to be answered. "Naruto-kun, why were you in the streets so late at night?" "I was looking for food Hokage-Jijisan." Naruto's response made the other Kakashi lift his eyebrows under his mask, wondering how someone could address the Third Hokage as "Jijisan". The notion did not seem to bother Hiruzen, however he took it as a blessing, he was hoping it would make Naruto open up to him more. "Why would you need to try and find food in the streets Naruto-kun? Shouldn't the orphanage be feeding you?" Hiruzen carefully worded that question, careful to not overload the five year old, but extract as much information as he could. Naruto closed his eyes and looked down, quickly followed by a short depressing sigh. "They threw me out of the orphanage a week ago Jijisan. I don't have anywhere else to go... so I was trying to find food on the streets, maybe some leftovers in trash cans. I couldn't pay anyone for food...it was all so expensive..." There was so much despair in the young boy's voice that even the Kakashi flinched from the ceiling. The boy's words clearly angered the Hokage, as both of his eyes closed slightly and he contained a short growl. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Ayame was almost in tears again after hearing what just came out of Naruto's mouth.

"Why...Why did that man call you a demon? You don't look like a demon to me." Ayame's innocence was showing to both the ANBU and the Third Hokage. _She was just a baby when the Kyubii attacked the village five years ago, she would have no idea about what is sealed inside this young boy._ Naruto shortly after that began to cry, which surprised all of them in the room. "I...I don't know..." He said in between his tears. "Ever since I could walk I was called a demon...the other orphans used to attack me...and when the people there tried to help me...all they would do is make it hurt worse." Naruto began to sob at this point. The Third Hokage and Kakashi were both Furious at this point, Hiruzen could feel a wave of killing intent and anger coming from Kakashi. _I can't believe they would treat sensei's son like this._ Kakashi thought to himself while his hands quickly became clenched fists. He quickly turned around and nodded his head, trying to keep Kakashi calm, he didn't want the killing intent to scare the two children. While this was happening Ayame stood up as Naruto start sobbing and tried to get closer to Naruto to hug him, but was interrupted by Naruto saying. "When I was on the streets...every looked at me with such hateful glares...when I would beg for food I'd be kicked...told to die...spit on...I don't know why. Everyone just called me a demon, they all said I deserved a fate worse than death." In between the sobs Ayame had tears in her eyes and tried to wrap her arms around Naruto in a hug. This startled Naruto his first reaction was to try back away from Ayame, he thought she was going to attack him too. Ayame pushed through and hugged him anyway. It was at this point Kakashi lost all control of his emotions and put his fist into the wall startling the two children and even Hiruzen. "Kakashi!" Hiruzen exclaimed. "Forgive me Hokage-sama, but I will send two other guards in to protect you and the children, I can't listen to this anymore." He stated as calmly as he could before exiting the room. Hiruzen couldn't blame his ANBU captain for his reaction, honestly Hiruzen wished to do the same. Naruto was terrified at what he just witnessed, he was afraid that Kakashi might hit him with something like that, Ayame had seen shinobi before, and knew they possessed some great power, but even that display of emotion slightly frightened her. Ayame spent more time trying to comfort Naruto then anything, and Hiruzen just sat there with this hand on the boys to try and calm him down. As soon as Kakashi left the room two other ANBU replaced the captain to guard the Hokage, however they remained visible as per the Hokage's order, hoping to try to make Naruto calm knowing these people were here to protect them.

With Kakashi moments later

Kakashi was in no mood, as soon as he left the room and ordered the two guards in, he quickly walked to the roof with an ANBU in tow. "Captain what's wrong?" A Female member of the ANBU Corp was trying to calm the captain down. She had never seen the captain act like this. Kakashi ignored her and kicked the door to the roof off its hinges and stormed on to the roof. "These bastards...how dare they!" Kakashi yelled loud enough for villagers walking on the street to stop what they were doing and look to the roof of the hospital. The female ANBU was shocked, no one has ever seen the captain yell at anything for any reason ever. "Captain calm down, you wouldn't want to scare anyone walking by." These words were useless as Kakashi put another fist into the wall, and the he collapsed with his back to the wall shortly after. "Naruto doesn't even know what a hug is..." at this point Kakashi had removed his mask and was holding his head in his hands. The Female ANBU was just kneeling in front of Kakashi, she had no idea what do make of this. Clearly the boy was important, but why?

Back in the hospital room

Naruto had finally stopped crying after a few moments of comfort by both Ayame and Hiruzen. They both couldn't believe what they had just heard, Hiruzen was as furious as Kakashi, and he knew the upcoming council meeting was going to be quite interesting. After another couple minutes Teuchi and the ANBU that was sent with him returned, except there were eight bowls of Ramen instead of three that Hiruzen originally asked for. The ANBU joined his comrades against the wall while Tuechi calmly set the first bowl down in front of the boy, who couldn't believe his eyes. There was hot food in front of him. "Thank...thank you..." was all Naruto could find the words for. "Don't worry about it Naruto." Tuechi said with a smile as he handed chop sticks to the boy. Naruto held them in his hands, and looked at Hiruzen... "How...How do I use these?" He embarrassingly asked. At this point Hiruzen felt like he wanted to punch the wall, but Ayame was quick to react and took the chopsticks from him. "You use them like this Naruto-kun." Ayame smiled as he showed him how to pick up the ramen and fed him some. "Ohhh. Let me try!" Naruto couldn't help himself, and his excitement was showing in his voice. After successfully eating some of the ramen. "Wow! That tastes so good!" Naruto exclaimed, which made Tuechi and Ayame chuckle and giggle respectively. Hiruzen sighed happily at what he saw, but what came out of Naruto's mouth next shocked him. "Um...Hokage-jijisan?" Naruto said. "What is it Naruto-kun?" Hiruzen replied. "Who are they?" He pointed to the ANBU in the room. "Those are special Shinobi called ANBU, they're here to keep us safe Naruto-kun." Hiruzen said this questioning to himself _Why does he want to know?_ "Oh...cool! Can I be in ANBU?" Naruto asked excitingly. Hiruzen chuckled out loud. "Maybe Naruto-kun, but you have to become a shinobi first, then you can become ANBU. They're very strong shinobi." "Oh...Okay. Hey ANBU-sans, would you like some Ramen?" This single question sent Hiruzen into shock. _The boy hasn't eaten in a week, and after finally given food he already asked someone else if they would like to share?._ Hiruzen wasn't the only one who was shocked at this, in fact the whole room was shocked, no one was able to say anything at first. "Um Naruto-kun, wouldn't you rather eat first? You said it yourself you haven't eaten in a week." Hiruzen said after recovering from shock. "Well yea but, if they're here to protect us they shouldn't they eat too?" Naruto asked innocently again, again sending the room back into shock. Quickly after the shock an ANBU with a boar mask broke rank and walked up besides the bed and kneeled down. "I appreciate the offer Uzumaki-san, but we must decline the offer. You're going to be a great ANBU one day if you keep thinking like that though. Please eat." "If you say so Boar-san!" Naruto said after slowly eating his ramen, still kind of adjusting to eating with chopsticks. Ayame gave him some help when he needed help and Teuchi just watched his daughter with pride. Hiruzen was shocked to see what he saw, and heard what he heard today, the boy is going to be a great shinobi someday after showing his talent for teamwork, which in turn made him smile. An ANBU operative the door and said. "Hokage-sama. Yamanaka Inoichi has arrived." "Very well" he replied, "Naruto-kun, I have to meet with Inoichi-san, please enjoy your ramen, we will return ." "Okay Hokage-jijisan" Naruto replied with ramen in his mouth. As Hiruzen got up to leave he singled to the three ANBU to stay in the room, to which Boar responded with a nod. After exiting the room, Inoichi followed the Hokage as he walked up to the roof with an ANBU following them.

Roof of the hospital

Hiruzen quickly figured out where Kakashi went after his emotional outburst, not that he could blame him for feeling the way he did, the fact that anyone could treat his sensei's son that way would make anyone angry. Inoichi tried to get some information as to why he was summoned, however he was simply instructed to wait until they got to the roof. When they found the door kicked down and Kakashi still with his head in his hands, they gave him a moment to compose himself before the conversation could begin.

Hiruzen began, "Thank you for coming Inoichi-san, I assume you all know why I have us up here for this conversation." "Hai Hokage-sama" Kakashi said while pulling out a containment scroll, with a quick application of chakra to the seal, three chairs popped up for all three of them to sit. "Thank you Kakashi" both men said as they sat. Inoichi began "I have a report from interrogation Hokage=sama, the individual in question who was...aggressively escorted to us by Kakashi-san admitted to his crimes of attempting to kill a Uzumaki Naruto, and is being further detained by Ibiki for any...additional..questioning." "Excellent, however that is not the main reason I called you hear Inoichi. I would like for you to take a look into Naruto-kun's mind, see if we can validate some of the information I was given today by the boy. I found most of it rather troubling..." Hiruzen responded with, noticing Kakashi's fist clench upon the word troubling. Before Inoichi could speak, Hiruzen spoke. "Kakashi, I must say you have a candidate for a potential student downstairs if I do say so myself. Perhaps even a replacement. " The statement made both men curious. "What makes you say that Hokage-sama?" Kakashi replied with. "Before the boy began to indulge in his ramen that the man Teuchi brought back for him, he asked me about the ANBU. When I told him that they were there to protect us, he offered his ramen to the ANBU, saying how they should eat too if they're there to protect us." Hiruzen explained this Kakashi, which made his eyes widen. "The boy hasn't eaten in a week, and he offered his food away?!" "I had the same reaction myself Kakashi, his willingness to put others in front of himself through the worst situation imaginable makes me wonder why he isn't already training to be a shinobi." Hiruzen then turned his attention to Inoichi, "I apologize Inoichi, you were about to speak." "Hai Hokage-sama, however I do agree with your assessment about him being a shinobi. I think you should also know that the council wishes to have a meeting tonight about the events that occurred two days ago up to today." This made both Hiruzen and Kakashi noticeably irritable, as both of them displayed tick marks on their foreheads. "I see" Hiruzen replied, "Kakashi, I would like you to be there for this meeting, I have a feeling this meeting will relate to Naruto-kun, and I could use an ally in the room." "Of course Hokage-sama." Kakashi quickly replied. _This boy has already been abandoned, as if I could just not be there. I will be there to protect the memory of my sensei, no matter what ._ "Now Inoichi, would you please be willing to delve into Naruto-kun's mind with your mind transfer, I'd like to verify the claims he made today." "Of course Hokage-sama, anything to help the boy at this point. No child, whether they have a great burden like Naruto's or not, deserves to be treated that way." Inoichi replied, which brought a smile to the other two men's faces.

Naruto's hospital room

Hiruzen entered the room several minutes after Naruto had finished his ramen, and Teuchi and Ayame were cleaning up to leave. "I really can't thank you both enough for all you've done for Naruto-kun." Hiruzen calmly said to both of them. They both bowed to the Hokage before leaving the room after saying their goodbyes to Naruto. Naruto was sad to see them go, but understood that they had to leave. Naruto was quick to speak. "Hey Jiji, I didn't know ramen was so good!" Hiruzen was quick to chuckle at both his title and the statement. "I'm glad you enjoyed it Naruto-kun, there are some friends of mine I'd like you to meet." As if on cue, both Inoichi and Kakashi with his mask entered the room. "Ohhhh! More ANBU, cool!" Naruto said as he saw Kakashi. Kakashi took his ANBU mask of and sat down in front of Naruto. "I've heard a lot about you Naruto, you want to be in ANBU huh? You know it can be kind of scary, and there's a lot of responsibility..." Naruto interrupted Kakashi before he could finish. "Yea but jiji said your job is to protect people, I know how it is to not be protected..." He looked down at the floor after saying that, as did the mood of the whole room. "So I want to get strong enough so that I can protect people too." Naruto calmly said, making all three older men left in the room chuckle. "Hmm. okay then Naruto, I look forward to seeing you in ANBU with me one day." Kakashi responded. Hiruzen came up to Naruto. "Now Naruto, this man is a good friend of mine, he's going to take a look into your mind." Naruto rudely interrupted. "You can do that?!" He looked at Inoichi. "Yes I can, it's quite useful for getting information. Being a shinobi means sometimes you have to get a lot of information, and that's something I excel at." Inoichi replied after chuckling. _This makes me feel like I'm talking to my daughter, it's a shame the boy has no parents, although he could pass as a Yamanaka with the blonde hair. Maybe I'll talk to my beloved about it sometime._ "So what do you specialize in ANBU-san?" Naruto asked Kakashi. "Naruto, my name is Kakashi, you can always use my real name when I'm not wearing my ANBU mask, and I specialize in a lot of things." "COOL! so you must be an awesome Shinobi! What about you Jiji?" He asked The Hokage. "I specialize in a lot of things too Naruto-kun, so much that people call me the professor." Hiruzen responded making the boys excitement jump. "COOOL!" Naruto exclaimed, but then remember why Inoichi was here. "Oh. I'm sorry Inoichi-san, you're here to look in my mind, so what do I need to do to help you?" This made all three men's eyebrows rise, the sudden change of attitude was unexpected, almost like he went from one personality to another. _He's just like the both of you._ Both Kakashi and Hiruzen thought. "Well Naruto-san, all you have to do is lay back and I can take a look at what I need to find." Inoichi decided to try to get through this, he had a feeling he wasn't going to have a pleasant time in the boy's mind. Naruto nodded and leaned back into the pillow on the hospital bed. Inoichi already knew what to look for when they had their meeting on the roof. "Good luck Inoichi-san, please be through." Hiruzen asked. "Hai Hokage-sama." Inoichi said as he placed he hand on Naruto's forehead and began his mind transfer technique.


	3. Chapter 2 (The Dream)

Chapter 2: The Dreams

Four hours later

The Third Hokage, followed in tow by both Inoichi and Kakashi, were on their way to the council meeting. Hiruzen was already dreading the headache this was going to be, not to mention the blasted paperwork. Inoichi was still fuming about what he saw in the young boy's mind. He wasn't exactly quiet about it either. Hiruzen wasn't sure if people in the street were giving the trio a wide birth because of his status as Hokage, or the anger coming out of Inoichi's mouth, screaming about how much of an "outrage" the whole situation was.

 ***Flashback: two hours ago***

After spending two hours in the boy's mind, Inoichi came out of the mind transfer technique and put a hole in the wall next to Kakashi's. Thankfully Naruto was asleep still, and would probably sleep soundly through the night, else he might have been afraid of the blonde man. "So, it would right of me to assume that the boy's claims were in fact true then Inoichi?" Hiruzen asked, trying to be a calm voice of reason in the room. "Those bastards..." Inoichi muttered quietly to himself at first. "I'm amazed the boy was even able to be positive to the ANBU earlier. This child's life has been nothing but suffering. Yes Hokage-sama, every one of his claims was in fact accurate. That wasn't even the most sickening thing, even the children would look at him with disdain and hatred, their parents must be poisoning their minds, some would encourage attacks. I could feel the despair in his memories, no child deserves to go through this. Jailor or not!" Inoichi finished his report, emotions fluctuating throughout his carefully chosen words. Kakashi, with his ANBU mask on, just stared at the sleeping boy, Inoichi's words were heard and processed, but he just couldn't seem to take his eyes off the child. "I see." Hiruzen replied before sighing. "This is most troubling, I question how effective my directive was distributed amongst the members of the council. This brings up several other questions. However we have a meeting to prepare for, I would like you both to be ready for this, please return to your homes and meet me at my residence in two hours." Hiruzen directed, he was prepared to dismiss all member of the room, however he was interrupted by Kakashi, who was facing him now. "Hokage-sama, I'm not comfortable leaving Naruto here alone...word has no doubt traveled that the boy is here." Kakashi then sighed and looked to the sleeping boy. "I won't see the boy hurt again, not while I can at least help it." Hiruzen didn't question the judgment of his ANBU captain, while Kakashi might still be young, no one doubted his loyalty.. "Very well, who do you trust to watch over the boy then Dog?" Hiruzen asked, using Kakashi's ANBU code named as he was in the presence of other operatives. Before Kakashi could speak, Boar stepped up. "I will see to the boy personally Hokage-sama." Kakashi looked to Boar and nodded, he trusted Boar, he was loyal to the Hokage and Konohagakure as a village. The other two ANBU nodded in agreement, both stating something similar to Boar, putting Kakashi and Hiruzen at ease.  
"Very well, dismissed."

 ***End flashback***

It wasn't like Inoichi to lose his temper like this, however Hiruzen had also watched his ANBU captain lose control of his emotions today. If the ANBU captain Hatake Kakashi could lose his temper in the village, anything was possible. He himself may have lost his temper if he didn't have to deal with the headache and paperwork of it afterwards. Kakashi, who was in full ANBU uniform, was first to speak. "Inoichi-san, while I agree with your assessment, I believe it's necessary for you to enter this meeting with a calm manner, I have a feeling this won't be a pleasant meeting anyway." "I agree." Hiruzen replied while they walked up to the Council room now. "Let's try and face this meeting with a cool manner, and try to figure out what's best for Naruto-kun."

In the council room

The council room was set up in such a way that The Third Hokage was at the head of the room, there he had a small desk where to use for whatever purposes. in front of him sat two curved tables, one to the left side of the room, the other to the right. The Ninja Council, which was made of up the heads of several ninja families, sat on the left. The Civilian Council, was made up of the heads of various guilds of the their perspective trades. Along with the two original members of the Original Council, as well as former teammates of Hiruzen, Homura and Koharu. The meeting had only been going on for five minutes and already The Third Hokage had a headache.

"This is an outrage!" cried the head of the merchants guild, who quickly followed with. "How dare we be called here for such an issue. This matter should have been dissolved five years ago!" Which brought unanimous nods of agreement from the civilian table. "While I do agree that this issue should have been dissolved already, your idea of killing the young boy doesn't sit well with me." Hiruzen calmly replied, trying not to lose his temper. Koharu quickly replied. "And I don't agree with a civilian being detained and interrogated by a ninja over this trivial matter! The boy is not a Ninja, therefore what happens to him is of no concern to any of you!" Her words cut into Inoichi, who was already visibly irate by this meeting. "While your statement is true, I must protest to the nature behind it! This boy was attacked for a burden he has no knowledge of, and I wonder how many people you informed about the decree Hokage-sama issued about the boy!" Inoichi spat back at the entire civilian council, much to their shock. "I would also like to hear more about that." Hiruzen interjected aggressively, "How is it that I make a decree for the boy's predicament to never be spoken about." Hiruzen paused before releasing a level of killing intent that made even Kakashi, who was standing behind him, flinch. "AND YET MY MOST TRUSTED INTEROGATION SPECALIST WAS ABLE TO GO INTO THE BOY'S MIND AND SEE THE HATE AND DISDAIN COMING FROM EVERYONE IN THE VILLAGE! EVEN THEIR YOUNG CHILDREN!" Hiruzen projected his voice in an attempt to cause fear in the room, he succeeded as almost every member in the room sat up straight and attempted to back away. Various forms of attempting to reason with the Hokage came from the civilian side of the council, however he would hear none of it.

The Ninja side of the council finally interjected, coming from the head of the Uchiha clan Fugaku, "So what do you suggest we do Hokage-sama, start arresting people for speaking about the boys...predicament." Fugaku carefully chose his words, he did not agree with this meeting in the slightest, he believes the boy should be executed as it is. Hiruzen thought for a moment before stamping and signing a document on his desk. "As of now, speaking of the boy's nature a capital offense. To do so will mean death." Hiruzen declared, quickly retorted by outcries on both ends of the council. "Hokage-sama!" Koharu quickly said, "How can you allow something like this! That boy is nothing but a orphan, and a demon! There's no reason to make such a law, the man who did what he did should be a hero!" Inoichi, fed up at this point decided to enter the conversation. "Which man are you referring to counselor? " "What do you mean Inoichi-san?!" Koharu spat. "I mean...which man are you referring to? Are you asking about the man who encouraged the boy to be beaten at the Orphanage? The people who failed to teach they boy some basic skills, like how to eat with chopsticks? Or perhaps the people at the Orphanage's infirmary who would improperly see to the boys wounds, if not only add to the injuries? What about the one who kicked the young child out of the Orphanage? The numerous merchants who would try and charge the boy quadruple price for their goods, causing the boy to go hungry on the streets and try to find food from other peoples trashcans? Or the people who would spit on the boy during his struggles to survive? Please _counselor_." The word counselor spoken with enough venom to make the civilian council shake slightly. "enlighten me." The blonde finished. "Enough!" Hiruzen ended the situation before it could spiral out of control. "My law still stands, Fugaku, you are to use the Military Police to see to it this doesn't happen again. Meanwhile, the Sarutobi family will be sponsoring the boy to be enrolled into the Ninja Academy for the coming semester, he has a strong heart and the Will Of Fire burns strong within him."

"I must protest the notion of enrolling the...boy into our academy. He's of the age that he will be in the academy with my daughter, and I'm not comfortable with my daughter being trained with him!" This coming from Mebuki Haruno, which sparked additional outcries from other members of the civilian council, all saying the same basic message. "Giving the demon the ability to gain power, mark my words, he'll only gain power to release the fox and destroy.." A member of the civilian council began to speak before a ball of lightning that sounded like chirping birds came through his chest from behind him. "Chidori..." was all that could be heard from the dog masked ANBU, as he pulled his hand out from the man's chest and his body fell lifeless to the floor. Watching a member of the council be slaughtered so quickly made the entire civilian council shake with fear, some almost fainted from the killing intent radiating from Kakashi as he pulled his Chidori from the man's chest. "It seems you all failed to understand the serious nature of this conversation, and the penalty of the law I declared earlier. Perhaps this will be a reminder to you all." Hiruzen spoke calmly. "Do any of you have any questions concerning any of the natures we've spoken since the meeting began?" No response came from either tables, the civilian side to afraid to answer, and the Shinobi council decided to steer clear of speaking to avoid any trouble. "Very well, meeting adjourned." Hiruzen declared.

The civilian council quickly exited the room, some almost trampling over each other as a means to quickly escape the room where they had seen their former member killed before their very eyes. Eventually the Shinobi Council stood up and each bowing to the Hokage before exiting the room. "I must say that reaction was rather quick and dramatic Kakashi." Hiruzen said after they were to only two in the room. "My apologies Hokage-sama, but you made a decree and I would not tolerate sensei's son being spoken about in such a way." Kakashi spoke softly while removing his ANBU mask while Hiruzen replied. "No, it was necessary to do what you did, I only hope what was discussed here can change anything for the boy. I also have some surprises for the boy that should make him very happy." Kakashi's visible eyebrow rose to his hairline after the Hokage finished his statement. "Surprises Hokage-sama? Are you going to tell him of his heritage, as much as I would love to see the looks on others faces, sensei isn't here to protect the boy. However if that is your plan I will gladly take Naruto under my protection." "That won't be necessary Kakashi, besides I still need you in ANBU for the time being. However you will be selecting agent's to constantly tail the boy, I want him under the protection of the ANBU at all times of the day until he enters the academy, his safety is a S ranked priority now, do you understand Kakashi?" Hiruzen asked. "Understood Hokage-sama, is it safe to assume I can also watch over the boy when not on missions?" Kakashi asked, hoping to be able to bond with his sensei's son. "Only if you're in ANBU uniform, I'd like to keep the topic of Uzumaki Naruto out this council room, and if people saw you with the boy off duty, it could complicate things. For now, be sure the boy is safe. Am I clear?" Hiruzen asked.

"Crystal clear Hokage-sama." Hiruzen only nodded at Kakashi. "I will set up a stipend for the boy from the funds of the council for orphans, it should be enough for him to live off of in his apartment that I will be donating to him when he is released from the hospital this week." "Hai Hokage-sama. Do you require anything else?" Kakashi awaiting any additional instructions. "No, see to the order's I've given you today, otherwise you are dismissed for now." Hiruzen ordered. Without a word Kakashi simply nodded, put his dog mask on and disappeared with in a swirl of leaves.

Meanwhile in Naruto's mindscape

Naruto may not be the most attentive boy in Konohagakure, sure he noticed how everyone treated him, even though he could never figure out why. However being practically submerged in water, even those who were completely idiotic, would be enough to wake anyone up. "What the?" Naruto asked himself as he stood up in what appeared to be a sewer. "Where...where am I? Hello?!" Naruto screamed out. "I guess they dropped me in a sewer... the ANBU are just like everyone else..." Naruto said as he looked down. "I have to get out of here." Naruto said as he started walking in a random direction in the sewer. Several minutes of walking Naruto found himself in the middle of an isolated room. In the room was the largest gate he's ever seen in his short five years of life. "This has got to be the way out of here!"

' _ **Foolish boy**_ ' Kurama thought to himself. **"You hairless ape, why have you disturbed my slumber!"** Naruto upon hearing a deep roar from beyond the stumbled backwards in fear. "W-w-what...". It took every ounce of courage the boy could muster to not just turn and run in fear. The atmosphere of the room was..oppressive to say the least, Naruto found it difficult to even breathe. "W-w-who are you?" Naruto managed to ask, upon his question he saw two crimson red orbs appear behind the gate and rise up almost one hundred feet in the air. " **You wretched boy, if not for this seal on the gate. I would eat you now and be free of this foolish prison."** roared the giant fox behind the bars. Naruto was able to find the strength to stand and shortly afterwards speak. "That doesn't answer my question, who are you, and why are you blocking the way out of this sewer!?" **"Don't raise your voice to me foolish human! I am the Kyūbi No Yōko! Hatred and death incarnate! You are nothing but an insignificant speck of dirt to me!"** Kurama roared at the child causing the ground to shake. "So...why are you here in this sewer then?" Naruto innocently asked. **"I am here because I was captured and sealed away because of the** _ **accursed Uchiha**_ **summoned me into battle against the man you call Shodai-Hokage."** Naruto raised one eyebrow."So...you're here to keep me in this sewer until I die because of your battle with two people I've never heard of?" The fox grinned evilly behind his bars. **"I wish that were the case, I'm here because YOU are the one who keeps ME in this sewer!"** Naruto's eyes widened. "How do I keep you here? Aren't you in front of the way out?" ' **Gotcha** ' The fox eyes went to the center of the gate. " **I am sealed within you, you are my jailor. You are in your own mind you foolish child."** Naruto fell back in shock "You...how..."  
" **Stand up you insignificant mongrel! I will not stand the person I'm forced to keep alive be so spineless!"** Naruto responded by standing up with his knees shaking. " **I was sealed inside you when you were a born, your Yondaime-Hokage doomed you to this fate! Everyone knows of our predicament, he's the reason the people attack you and my chakra is forced to heal you."** Naruto began to cry. "Why...why would he do this to me?" Kurama's chakra began to leak through the seal. " **That doesn't matter now boy...now tear of this paper, and it won't matter anymore."** Kurama's chakra began to lift the boy up to the seal. Naruto put his hand on the seal. "O-Ok. So I take this off and I can get out of here?" ' **The boy is really going to let me free...foolish little monkey, he knows nothing'** Kurama grinned evilly, his thoughts began to wander onto the destruction he would cause the moment his seal was removed. " **Yes."** Naruto began to slowly peel the seal off the gate with each millimeter he thought, 'finally I can get out of this sewer'. Naruto got the first tenth of the seal off before his dissipated from his mindscape and woke up in his body.

Naruto's hospital room: Morning

"Naruto-kun, are you okay? Naruto-kun wake up." - Hiruzen asked while shaking Naruto's shoulder. Naruto opened his eyes, he quickly discovered he was covered in sweat, and with a quick examination of his room his sheets were scrunched together and his hospital blanket was on the floor. "What happened Hokage-jiji?" "You were shaking and sweating Naruto-kun, were you having a nightmare perhaps?" Hiruzen asked. Naruto, who was now fully awake, looked over at the old man. 'It was just a dream? Oh...' "Yea I guess so, sorry if I scared you jiji and made a mess, I'll clean it up." Naruto tried to sit up but was stopped by Hiruzen with a hand on his shoulder 'Perhaps it was just a nightmare, I won't worry about it, the boy's had it rough based on what Inoichi has told me.' "It's alright Naurto-kun, a nurse will come take care of it soon, you don't have to worry about that. But for now we need to have a quick chat. I have good news for you."

Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Huh? What do you mean jiji?" Hiruzen let out a single chuckle at his nickname. "Naruto, I've decided that I am going to put you into the Ninja Academy." Naruto's eyes widened, and his smile was a the biggest indicator to Hiruzen that the boy's day just lit up. "Really! I get to learn how to be a Ninja? You're not kidding are you Jiji?" Hiruzen smiled at the boy's new mood. "Why would I be kidding Naruto-kun, come on, I have another surprise for you too. You've been discharged from the hospital. The nurses said your wounds healed surprisingly fast." Naruto's mood visibly dropped at this, he thought he knew what this meant. "So do I have to go back to the orphanage jiji? I don't want to go back there.." His tone dropped as he got off the bed and tried to find his shoes. "Where are my clothes Hokage-jiji." Just then Kakashi appeared in the hospital room in a swirl of leaves in full ANBU uniform and his famous dog mask. Naruto quickly hid behind the legs of his Jiji in fear of the sudden appearing ninja he didn't recognize. "Everything is ready Hokage-sama." Kakashi reported, then quickly noticing Naruto behind Hiruzen's leg. "It's okay Naruto." Kakashi said and then quickly got down the boys level and took off his mask and closed his one visible eye the other covered by an eyepatch, giving Naruto an eye smile. "I promise you I'd never harm you. Here I've got you some new clothes. Your old ones were..well no good anymore." Naruto took the clothes from Kakashi slowly. "T-thank you ANBU-san." Hiruzen cleared his throat and the two others in the room turned their attention to the village leader Kakashi placing his mask back on his face. "Don't worry Naruto-kun, Dog here is one of the best in the village. There is no reason to be afraid of him. Now about the Orphanage..." Naruto looked down, fearing the worst. "You will not be going back to the Orphanage." Hiruzen finished. Naruto looked up at the old man and Kakashi. "So... where am I gonna stay? Do I have to go back to the streets?" "Kami no." Kakashi spoke hiding his anger in his voice and closing his non visible fist to not frighten the boy anymore. Hiruzen nodded before adding. "Dog is right Naruto-kun, this here is your final surprise. Dog will you take the boy to his new apartment after he get's dressed. I'd like to see inspect everything before our favorite blonde enters his new home." Kakashi nodded. "Of course Hokage-sama, your guard are outside, they will escort you there. Naruto, take your time. There's no rush okay?" Naruto nodded. "O-okay ANBU-san." Hiruzen nodded and left the room to be escorted by his guards to Naruto's apartment.

Kakashi sat down on the bed and took off his mask. "How are you feeling Naruto? Boar said you had a nightmare last night." Naruto was looking at his new clothes, never once had he owned anything in his life, let alone anything new. He could barely contain his excitement. "I guess I did ANBU-san. I'm okay though, I had some before." Naruto put his new pants on. "Naruto do you remember me from yesterday?" Kakashi asked. "Yea, you were the ANBU that put the in the wall" Naruto said as he pointed to the big crack on the far wall. Kakashi scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and closed his visible eye. "Ahh yes I was, I'm sorry if that scared you. I was quite annoyed at a few things and I forgot one of the rules of the shinobi." Naruto put his new shirt on, and looked at Kakashi in confusion "Shinobi rules?" Kakashi set his mask down to explain. "Well since you're entering the academy soon, consider this an introduction." He closed his eye to give Naruto an eye smile, to which the boy sat down on the bed next to him complete in his new simple black shirt that was a size larger then he was, and dark blue pants made from standard cloth to protect his legs from the day to day activities, on his feet were standard shinobi sandals. "Two of the most important rules for being a shinobi is to always control your emotions, and that deception is a shinobi's best friend. But never forget, that those who abandon their teammates are worse than scum." Naruto nodded. "I think I understand ANBU-sensei, so what's next? Hokage-jiji said that he wanted to inspect something for me?" 'Did he forget my name, or is he just trying to be respectful?' Kakashi placed his mask back on. "That's right Naruto, are you ready to go see what the surprise that Hokage-sama has for you?" Naruto jumped off the bed. "Of course!" Kakashi stood up and then kneeled down so Naruto can get on his back. "Jump on my back Naruto, I know a faster way to get there." Naruto raised his left eyebrow but slowly complied by climbing onto Kakashi's back, to which both disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto's Apartment

In his many years on the plane of existence, Sarutobi Hiruzen had bear witness to a great deal of things. There are several people in the world that could say they've experienced a shinobi world war, and several less could say they've experienced two. However Hiruzen is one of the few people in the elemental nations who can say they've experienced three. Even for a shinobi with such prestige. The Third Hokage of Konohagakure, _Kami no Shinobi_ , felt he had failed his village when he was unable assist Minato Namikaze, Yondaime Hokage, in his battle against the Kyūbi five years ago. He watched in horror as Naruto's parents selflessly sacrificed their lives to seal the beast into their new born son, while he was locked out by Kushina's 'Fūinjutsu: Kongō Fūsa (Sealing Technique: Adamantine Sealing Chains)'. He promised the boy's father that he would ensure that the boy would be treated as a hero for being forced to bear the Kyūbi's burden, he could only hope that whatever plane the boy's parents were now resting in, would look down upon him and smile for doing everything he can to better their child's life. Hiruzen was snapped from his thoughts on the matter when Kakashi appeared with a young blonde boy on his back in a swirl of leaves.

"Ah I see young Naruto-kun is finally here, and in new clothes, they look quite nice on you Naruto-kun." Hiruzen spoke while Naruto climbed off of Kakashi's back. "Thank you Hokage-jiji, but where are we exactly?" Hiruzen walked towards a door on the wall and opened it. "We are now at your home Naruto-kun, this is your apartment." Hiruzen stepped out of the way so the young boy could enter his new apartment, to which he did who was followed by the old man and Kakashi shortly after.

Naruto was quick to examine his new home. After briefly walking through a short hallway and turning left, Naruto finds what Kakashi would define as a living room and kitchen area. There was a couch that could against the far left wall directly underneath a window, sitting in front of the couch was a simple table. In front of the table was the kitchen which was opposite of the couch. It was nothing fancy, a small stove with was in between a fridge on its left and a countertop to the right, with a cabinet underneath it. Farther up the countertop sat a double bowl kitchen sink. The countertop didn't extend for more then maybe ten centimeters before it took a hard right and extended maybe two or so meters. underneath the sink and the rest of the countertop were more cabinets for storing food and other things. There was a sliding wooden door, which Naruto opened to find a fairly large single bedroom with a dresser to his right and double full bed about one meter in front of it, which was centered in the room. The window in the room had a grand display of the Hokage Monument from the Shodai to the Yondaime. On the opposite wall was a door that opened into a small bathroom, nothing fancy, just enough to ensure that his hygiene could be well maintained.

"This is all mine?" The young boy asked with amazement in his voice. Kakashi smiled under his ANBU mask. "Well of course it is Naruto, who else do you see living here?" Hiruzen nodded while he walked towards the table. "May I sit and YOUR table Naruto-kun?" Emphasizing the idea of property to young boy who quickly ran over to the table and pulled a set out for both of his guests. "Well duh Hokage-jiji, you don't even have to ask!" The boy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "How...how am I going to live here though? Won't I have to pay someone or something, isn't that how it works?" Hiruzen laughed at the boy's maturity. "Normally it would be, but see you're a special case Naruto-kun, this apartment is being donated to you by my family. The council's orphan fund will also being giving you a living stipend so that you can afford to buy the things to live comfortably enough as an academy student. To which I will see to it personally." Naruto widened his eyes in amazement. "Whoa, alright so, now what Hokage-Jiji, what do I do next? When do I get to train to be a Ninja like you?" Hiruzen waved his hands up and down.

"Slow down Naruto-kun slow down, now yes you will be entering the academy in two months time sponsored by the Sarutobi family. Before that though you have to get ready, you need to stock your apartment up with food, get yourself more clothes, and not to mention just enjoy your new apartment for a couple days. You've been on the streets for long then I would have liked Naruto-kun, just give an old man the peace of mind knowing you'll be safe in your bed for a couple days?" Naruto smiled and with speeds, no human could think possible, jumped up and wrapped his arms around the Hokage in a hug. "Okay Jiji-san." Hiruzen patted the boy's back. "Thank you Naruto-kun, Dog I have a mission for you." Before you could blink Kakashi was down one on knee bowing to the old man. "What do you require of me Hokage-sama?" Hiruzen waved his hand and handed an envelope to Kakashi. "Relax Dog, your mission is to take Naruto here and help him stock his apartment to be ready for living. Do you accept this mission?" Kakashi nodded. "Hai Hokage-sama." The Hokage would never need to know that he wouldn't spend a single ryō of Naruto's money, everything he would need for this first trip would come out of Kakashi's personal funds.

* * *

Jutsu list

Fūinjutsu: Kongō Fūsa (Sealing Technique: Adamantine Sealing Chains): A-Rank Ninjutsu, Fuinjutsu, Barrier Ninjutsu,. Short-to-mid range. This technique molds the user's chakra into extremely durable chains which can be used for various purposes, such as directly combating, or physically restraining foes. The user can also use the chains to erect a barrier in which no one can enter or leave the barrier until its dispelled.

* * *

 **Chapter 2 finally complete, for anyone who actually wanted to read this story, i apologize for the long wait, I like long chapters and I got a bit of writers block considering my original idea for the story, was already written once before. I've made another plot and will continue to develop the story as it goes along. I personally am in this for the long hall.**  
 **Shout outs to Kenchi618 for the Awesome idea of Jutsu lists. If someone else did it before him then shout outs to them too.**  
 **Shout Outs to Ramrikai on Deviatart for the illustrating a layout for our little hero's first apartment.**

 **If anyone has any questions or concerns let me know and ill answer as best I can**

 **Peace out**

 **Calm**


	4. Chapter 3: Upbringing

**Novrier: First off, I would like to thank you and congratulate you on being the first person to review my story. I would first like to thank you for noticing the effort put into my rendition of the Naruto universe. While I do understand your frustrations about the nature the first two chapters have seemed to show you. I would like to simply point out the everything that happens in the world is truly logical. While I've only given you the minimal to go off of at the moment, i simply as that you continue reading. If you still feel it's not a story you can connect with, then I apologize, however I'm not just going to give you all the answers to the plot I've developed. My only hint is: Fear.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Upbringing

Outside the Ninja Academy

The Ninja Academy located at the base of the Hokage Mountain. As it stands currently, the academy is a compound comprised of several buildings and fields. On the inside you'd find several large and expansive classrooms with high ceilings. The fields that lay in between the outer walls in of the compound, are wide and expansive enough to have harbor many uses, Uses such as Taijutsu lessons, sparring, and other physical conditioning exercises. It is in this compound where all shinobi of Konohagakure since the second Shinobi World War started their shinobi career here. Shinobi such as Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi, Jiraiya of the Sannin, Namikaze Minato. Now our favorite little blonde stands in front of the Academy. Standing next to the tree lone tree that stands tall and proud in front of the main entrance with a simple wooded swing attached to a lone branch, Uzumaki Naruto silently waits for his first day of the rest of this life.

For your normal person, one would think the first day of the academy would be spent in a somber silence, but not for this class. This class is loud and rambunctious, blissfully unaware of the cruel and harsh nature of the world around them. The first days of the career are the most important in one's life, a soldier is a product of their training, just as people are products of their upbringing. Naruto, unfortunately, is the only one of the next generation who can truly understand the cruel nature of the world around him. He was never sheltered by parents like his comrades in training. The short blonde boy's social status has yet to improve since his hospital trip two months ago, he is still faced with the burden of shouldering the disgust brought upon him by Konohagakure's denizens. Naruto still doesn't understand why everyone looks at him with anger and disgust and even fear. His young mind has yet to realize that they simply refuse to let go of the anger that plagues their mind from the attack from the Kyūbi now six years past, his presence seems to trigger the fear deep into their hearts, fear that he will be cause of another attack by the hands of the tailed beast. Fortunately for our young boy, he is no longer suspect to the physical attacks, no one would dare attack the boy with the threat of one thousand birds looming from the shadows.

Uzumaki Naruto, now sat quietly on a branch that hangs from the lone tree. He wore new clothes that Hiruzen had sent him for his first day at the academy, he now wore a long sleeved black shirt with orange covering the sleeves from the shoulders to the wrists. For pants he wore simple black ANBU style pants that Kakashi had gotten for him on their shopping trip two months ago, simple shinobi sandals completed his attire. The boy remained unseen to the rest of the his future comrades untrained eyes, even to the eyes of their parents who were not a part of the shinobi force. Most dropping their children off with rapid goodbyes and various whispers of making their family proud. Family... The concept allow still almost puts the blonde in tears...almost. _'Now is not the time to cry...I made a promise to the mirror...I will not cry..._ ' Despite the boy's best efforts, a single tear flowed down his right cheek. Since his first so called "nightmare" at the hands of the Kyūbi two months ago, Naruto has been faced with actual nightmares from the fox's attempt to plague his mind with negative thoughts. Thought's that he hoped would make the boy become emotionally unstable, unstable enough to set him free. However the boy still holds strong in his own ways, like making promises to himself in the mirror to be strong, and to not cry anymore. Thus the fox is still trapped in the _Hakke no Fūin Shiki_ on our hero's stomach.

Even with most of the students now present, and the academy instructors were due any minute to come out and welcome the next generation, Naruto remained hidden in the trees. Truth be told, he couldn't figure out why he was so afraid to approach anyone. Even Hiruzen, who had gone out of his way to make weekly visits to Naruto, did encourage him to stop being so timid and attempt to make friends with others. Despite the requests, Naruto memories of his mistreatment from his time in the orphanage continue to plague his mind, and he's unable to overcome his own shyness. He prefers to spend his time with himself anyway, since he found out about his impending entrance to Academy, he found ways to spend his time constructively. Naruto would take walks and find shinobi hopping from tree's and rooftops with no effort, he had no idea how to do any of these things, but he figured the first step was climbing up to spots to start jumping around. The first time Naruto tried to jump from one tree branch to another, he got his first lesson in the laws of gravity and fell five or so meters to the ground. Deciding he would wait to jump from tree to tree until after he got his own training, the boy still decided to occupy his free time by climbing up and down trees. The view from the tree tops was captured the boy, and no one could glare at him when he was up in the trees.

Moment's quickly passed and Naruto climbed down from the branch is relative silence, only two people were able to notice. Was a short little boy with black hair and wide black eyes, the sides of his face were practically covered by his hair, but the hair on the back of his head was oddly shaped. It's shape could easily be compared to the rear end of a duck. The other was a short girl about Naruto's height, she had short hair with two long stands that went along the side of her face, and these big white eyes. Before they could say anything out of confusion of a boy their age quietly coming up behind them after climbing down a tree, a pair instructors finally came out of the doors of the Academy. Both wore a green zip up flak jacket, with three scroll pouches on either side of the chest, a neck guard. The jacket is finished by a symbol, one that resembled a whirlpool, that could be found on the backs. Both of the instructors wore blue shinobi pants with a kunai and shuriken hold taped around their dominant hands. Underneath the jackets, both wore a dark colored long sleeve shirt, the same symbol on the back of their flak jackets could be found on the upper sleeves of their shirts. A young man with brown hair tied up and behind his head, who appeared to be in his late teens or early twenties with a scar across the bridge of his nose and a blue headband tied around his head stepped up first. "Ah yes the new class, welcome everyone to the Ninja Academy of Konohagakure. My name Umino Iruka, I am a Chūnin in the shinobi ranks, and from this day forward I am you sensei in the beginnings of the ways of the Ninja Arts. I hope we have a great time learning the ways of the shinobi, and our villages way of fire!"

The was something about this man the instantly peaked the interest of several of the young potential ninja's that stood in a collective cluster fuck before the instructors. He spoke with a fire in his voice, a compassion that could inspire those with little faith in themselves to do great things. However, to one young blonde haired boy in the audience, this man reminded him of his favorite old man in the village. _'Maybe this won't be so bad'_. The second man stepped up next to his coworker. He had shoulder length hair that had a tint of blue to it, he wore the same uniform as Iruka, however instead of a headband, this man wore his like a bandana. He also appeared to be the a couple years older than Iruka. "Yes yes, I see a lot of potential here as well Iruka. There are several future heads of their perspective clans in front of us." The man began to look at the group of children. "Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi, Hyūga, Uchiha, Inuzuka, Aburame. We expect great things of you, don't let your clans down." Finally his eyes gazed upon a blonde hair boy with bright blue eyes, his face instantly soured and he sucked in his teeth with disgust. ' _I can't believe we have to train that blasted boy, if we give that fox power he'll just destroy the village. Well I'll be sure to it he doesn't pass. It's for the good of the village, besides, he could be of use to me if he's broken.' "_ Mizuki is my name, I will be assist Iruka here with your studies of the shinobi arts. You can call me Mizuki-sensei."

Unfortunately for Naruto, he noticed the disgust in Mizuki's face as soon as his eyes were focused on him, and any hope he had from Iruka's speech was instantly gone. Somehow he just knew his time at the academy would be unpleasant, just as it was everywhere else in the Village. "Yes indeed Mizuki, now let's all go inside to room one zero four, so that we start our first lesson." Iruka spoke before walking into the building followed by Mizuki. Each of the students followed in, most of them were somewhat nervous after the display from the pair of instructors. The future of the next generation would begin in a fairly large room on the first floor. Upon entering the door to the academy, there was just one large hall way then split off into two directions after about ten meters. At the end of each of the split off hallways was a stair way that led up to the floor above it. Each hall way had four doors that led to four different classrooms. The classrooms were quite large to say the least. Each classroom measured out to be ten meters by ten meters with two windows on the far right side of the room. With large desks meant for the use of three people. A large chalkboard and a large desk, centered in the front of the classroom, faced the tables the students were to use. Each table was about a meter lower in level then the one prior with steps to assists someone getting from the top to the bottom of the classroom. There were three rows of desks making the classroom usable for twenty one students.

Room 104

A girl with blonde hair and light green eyes couldn't help but think to herself as she walked into the room. ' _It's just like daddy said, there really are a lot of expectations on me.'_ A skinny, but tall, boy with black hair tied up in a spiky ponytail found a seat in the middle row of the classroom, muttered something about troublesome and was instantly asleep. A plump boy with brown hair and swirl marks on his cheeks sat down next to sleeping boy. One would presume them to be friends and opened up a bag a chips, where he holds his food one can only guess, and began to dig in to said bag. The girl with white eyes sat in the back of the left row classroom and held her gaze to the desk under her. The boy with duck hair sat in the front row in the right seat of the class, a quiet grunt could be heard from the boy as he rolled his eyes and looked out towards the window. A boy with Brown hair and bright red marks on his cheeks that looked like fangs sat next to the plump boy with chips. He was accompanied by a small white ninken with brown ears. A tall boy sat in the back of the class in the center, a tall boy with a jacket that covered most of his face sat quietly. He had on sunglasses that were black and covered his eyes. Naruto chose to sit in the farthest seat from the front of the class, placing him in the back right. ' _if I stay in the back, maybe Mizuki-sensei won't look at me again.'_ Other various ninja hopefuls would fill into to random unfilled seats in the class. An argument could be heard between a girl with brown hair and a girl with bright pink hair could be heard over who was going to sit next to the boy in the front row.

Overall, the classroom had now filled up with nineteen students. The majority of the students congregated to the front of the classroom. Attendance had been called. and by now Naruto was beginning to put names to faces on some of his future comrades. He had seen several of them walking around the village in the last two months, mostly playing at the park with other children, or with their parents in the market district located near the center of the village. Before Naruto could begin to think about the pain of seeing children with their parents Iruka took a seat on the desk in front of the student. "Well now, I think it's time we being our first lesson isn't it? But before we begin I'd like to take a moment and begin an little assessment." There were several complaints from the majority of the students about already taking a test on the first day, of course this caused Iruka to laugh. "Relax relax, I don't mean a written test." He shook his head over towards Mizuki. "Like my colleague said, a lot of you are from some of the best clans in Konohagakure, think of this as an assessment for me, to see what some of you already know." He clapped his hands together. "Now raise your hands and tell me what you think you know about the ways of the shinobi."

Not many hands came about, the boy with duck hair raised his hand. "The ninja with the best tools at his disposal will always win?" Iruka tilted his head to the side once. "That's not exactly true, but not exactly false either Sasuke. But can you tell me what is any ninja's best tool?" The blonde girl with green eyes sitting a row in front of Naruto raised her hand and blurted out. "Is it a Kunai Sensei?" "Wait to be called on Ino, speaking out of turn could lead to problems in our line of work." Iruka scolded. "and no that's not it." He finished before looking around and noticed a boy with his head down. "Shikamaru, perhaps you might know the answer." No response. "Shikamaru." There was a response this time, just not the kind Iruka was expecting, all that could be heard from the boy was snoring. A piece of chalk was quickly thrown hitting the boy in the head. "SHIKAMARU!" The boy picked his head up muttering something about troublesome. "Being well rested sensei." He lazily replied before putting his head back down, eliciting laughter from the classroom. "No." Iruka replied, clearly annoyed by the boy's laziness. "What about you Choji, what do you think?" The plump boy next to Shikamaru tilted his head to the right to think. "Hmm. Never fighting on an empty stomach Iruka-Sensei?" Once again, laughter roared in the classroom. Iruka groaned while pinching the bridge of his nose. "Once again. No. Does no one have the right answer?" A lone voice could be heard. "Deception sensei." Iruka quickly looked up to examine the classroom. "Finally the answer, who was it that spoke up?"

Everyone in the classroom began to look amongst all the students, each of the students curious as to who had spoken up.

After several second, a young boy with blonde hair in the back right corner of the room allowed his hand to rise into the air. The door silently opened to reveal Mizuki entering the room, but all eyes were now on the blonde. "Deception is the ninja's best friend, it is the second best tool at their disposal." Iruka cocked his head to the side in approval. "That's basically correct yes, but why would you say that it's the second best tool at his disposal.." His voice trailed off as he looked as the list of names of his students. "Uzumaki." The word came out indifferently, more so to maintain an image of professionalism Iruka had prided himself on over his career. He was well aware of who Naruto was, and just like the others, he wasn't particularly fond of the boy. Iruka's parents were both part of the force that engaged the Kyūbi when it suddenly began a rampage several kilometers outside the walls of Konohagakure six years prior. ' _Another one? No that was different'_ the blonde thought to himself. Mizuki however was indeed furious, one for the fact that Naruto was even alive. Two that he actually was able to answer a single question about the shinobi world, in his mind the boy was something to just be slaughtered. If he were to gain any knowledge or power, he feared the fox would just break loose on the power and destroy the village. Suddenly then Mizuki let a wide shit eating grin, ' _the fox will not gain any power anyways, not while I'm around, especially while I have their backing...'_

 ***Flashback, one week prior***

Mizuki was a man that came from no family, he was an Orphan long before the Kyūbi attacked the village six years ago, even so he hated that goddamn boy for everything he was. He would never let anyone know this, but truth be told he was afraid of the boy. Correction, he was more afraid of what the boy could be. If it were up to him, that demon would already be dead, he was far too dangerous to be kept alive. When he had received summons to the civilian council, at first he ignored the requests. In his eyes they were nothing more than old fools who managed to accomplish little to nothing of importance for the village. However the second request came from one of the council members personally, what really caught the eyes of Mizuki was the young girl with pink hair and a large forehead. "Who's that mommy, is he the one you were looking for?" The older woman with shoulder length blonde hair and one large bang covering her forehead and the top of her nose responded to her daughter with such kindness in her voice. "Yes indeed my daughter, this man is Mizuki and we need to speak to him about a matter is all." Mizuki raised his eyebrow. "Truth be told I don't have time for a meeting with the council Haruno-san." The mother merely nodded.

"Perhaps you will have time for a quick conversation then? Just the two of us." Mizuki bobbed his head to the side. "I suppose I can spare a minute or two." The two adults and one young girl walked towards a park not two hundred meters away. "Sakura please go play my love." The girl didn't need to be told twice, she saw several other young children that she was familiar with and instantly ran off to join her friends. "I'll make this quick as you said you had other responsibilities to attend to today." The elder Haruno spoke quietly, enough so only Mizuki could hear. "What's this about?" "Truth be told, it's about that...child." The council member remembered the scene in the council room where the ANBU executed another council member for uttering the word, therefore she chose the words carefully. "He's to be entering the academy under your class in the coming months. The civilian council isn't comfortable with that...child being trained as a ninja. My daughter is going to be training at the academy too, so I'm especially uncomfortable with the idea." By now Mizuki had realized the general idea of why he was summoned. "So you want me to sabotage the boy's training, make sure he can't gain any skills for the...thing...to take over and harm others?" Mebuki at this point smiled, knowing she had gotten her point across and potentially made an ally. "That is exactly it Mizuki-san. The council officially has no involvement in it, however we are willing to protect you politically should anything happen. The old monkey seems to have grown a backbone when it comes to that child, we're doing everything we can to make the child's life miserable. That way the fox can never damage our home again." Mizuki simply nodded and walked away, but not before assuring his loyalty. "I'll take care of it."

 ***Flashback end***

"Don't speak out of line child." Mizuki spat, bringing the attention of the class to him. "That will be enough Mizuki, thank you." Iruka spoke before Mizuki could bring up unnecessary drama. The entire point was to test to see if anyone knew anything about the shinobi world, it didn't matter how. Plus Naruto didn't exactly speak out of line, it was more of an open floor at the point, he also did raise his hand. "Well that's enough of that, I learned a bit about some of you, but now the learning begins." Iruka and Mizuki passed out a syllabus to all of the now academy students Mizuki threw Naruto's on the floor next to him, forcing him to pick it up. After that Mizuki decided to speak first. "This here is a syllabus that's meant to explain everything you will learn over your next six years here at the academy." Iruka interrupted before he could continue. "My colleague is right, this is basically just a piece of paper that tells you everything you'll be learning here. Now let's go over it." Iruka looked down at this paper. "Welcome new Academy students to your first steps on your way in your shinobi careers. Here at the Academy you will begin the transformation from civilian to shinobi. You will meet here at the Academy from now on at eight thirty in the morning your first two years, and you will be dismissed at two thirty in the afternoon. After your first two years you will meet here at seven thirty your next two, and for your final two at six thirty." Most...okay all but one, of the student's whined in protest of waking up so early in the day.

"Stop complaining, you're going to be shinobi, and shinobi have to get up early!" Mizuki roared. Iruka merely sighed. "He's right class, but don't worry, it gets easier, that's why you have so long to adjust to it! Now during the first two years you will be taught the history of our village, and the basics of tools of shinobi. We'll also be putting you through exercise to help develop your bodies, thing's like survival and obstacle courses for practical purposes. We'll also start your lessons about Chakra, chakra control, natures. Things of that nature..." Iruka chuckled at himself, and most of the class groaned at this pun, Shikamaru had missed it because he was already sleeping. Sakura, the pink haired child giggled loudly, and Naruto simply raised an eyebrow at the man in the front of the classroom. "The two years after that, we'll start working on the three main branches of jutsu. With Ninjutsu, we like to keep it simple here. We'll teach you how to look like other people, switch positions with objects, and how to make illusions of yourself. Well teach you the basic academy style Taijutsu, which will also help you grow stronger. The final two years will be centered around teaching you everything else you'll need to know to pass this academy, and making sure everything is up to acceptable levels to enter the field as fully fledged shinobi." Naruto at this point now, could barely contain his excitement. This was it, this was his chance to prove himself, his chance to be strong.

* * *

 **I'd like to apologize for anyone who was actually waiting for this chapter to come out, and is disappointed by it's length. Real life issues have been plaguing my ability to write, I'm also starting a new job. Not to mention I have spent a ton of time doing all the research I can to make the story as detailed as possible. I watched 20 episodes of the stupid filler arcs to get the details for the academy room. Also spending my own time reading stories for ideas and inspiration. I'll be getting started on the next chapter soon. Until then my readers, enjoy.**

 **Calm out.**


End file.
